The National Peace Symposium

on

Khilafat, Peace and Justice

Saturday 8th November 2014 – Baitul Futuh Mosque, London

The Difference Between True Islam and Extremist Groups

An Overview of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community is a religious organisation, with branchesin more than 200 countries. It is the most dynamic denomination of Islam inmodern history, with an estimated membership in the tens of millionsworldwide.

It was established in 1889 by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) in asmall and remote village called Qadian in Punjab, India. He claimed to be theexpected reformer of the latter days and the awaited one of the worldcommunity of religions (the Mahdi and Messiah of the latter days). Thecommunity he started is an embodiment of the benevolent message of Islamin its pristine purity that promotes peace and universal brotherhood based ona belief in the Gracious and Ever-Merciful God.

With this conviction, within a century, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has expanded globally andit endeavours to practice the peaceful teachings of Islam by raising hundreds of thousands of poundsevery year for charities, building schools and hospitals open to all and by encouraging learningthrough interfaith dialogue.

The UK chapter of the community was established in 1913 and in 1924 it built London’s first purposebuilt mosque (in Southfields). It is, therefore, one of the oldest and most established Muslimorganisations in Britain and now has more than 105 branches across Britain.

His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad was elected as thefifth Khalifa of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in2003.

His Holiness inspires his community to serve humanity with thespirit of kindness and humility that is integral to Islam. Inaccordance with the teachings of Islam he upholds the honour ofall prophets of God and highlights the role of religion in thepromotion of peace.

His Holiness has delivered addresses at the House of Commons,Capitol Hill and the European Parliament and also written to world leaders urging them to inculcate atrue sense of justice and peace in international relations to avoid regional conflicts from engulfing theentire world.

“...it is the duty of all powers to fulfil the requirements of justice and to unite together. All parties need toincrease dialogue and open the lines of communication so that they can peacefully discuss the best meansto solve the problems of the world. These steps are necessary so that global peace can be established. It ismy prayer that Allah grants the people of the world the ability to do this.” (National Peace Symposium 2013)

The Khalifa of Islam: A Man of PeaceHazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad

On 8th November 2014, the Worldwide Head of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa, His

Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba, delivered the

keynote address at the 11th National Peace Symposium.

During his address, His Holiness categorically condemned

the activities of ISIS and other extremists groups as “entirely

un-Islamic” and said they were “viciously spreading a

network of terror” in the world. Quoting extensively from

the Holy Qur’an, His Holiness proved that Islam was a

religion of peace that promoted tolerance, mutual respect

and understanding at all levels of society. His Holiness also

questioned how extremist groups such as ISIS were funded

and supported. The event was held at the Baitul Futuh

Mosque in London in front of an audience of more than 1000

guests comprising Government Ministers, Ambassadors of

State, Members of both Houses of Parliament and various

other dignitaries and guests. The theme of this year’s Peace

Symposium was “Khilafat, Peace & Justice”. During the

event, His Holiness also presented Magnus MacFarlane-

Barrow, CEO of Mary’s Meals UK, with the Ahmadiyya

Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace in recognition

for his outstanding efforts to provide food and education

to children in the developing world. Prior to the keynote

address several dignitaries delivered brief remarks

including Rafiq Hayat, National President of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, Lord Tariq Ahmad of

Wimbledon, Minister for Communities, Siobhain

McDonagh, MP and Chair of the “All Party Parliamentary

Group for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’, Rt. Hon.

Ed Davey, MP, Secretary of State for Energy & Climate

Change, Rt. Hon. Justine Greening, MP, Secretary of State

for International Development and Most Reverend

Kevin McDonald, Archbishop Emeritus of Southwark, who

also read a special message from the Vatican.

The 11th National PEACE SYMPOSIUM

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After reciting Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz and Bismillah,Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul MasihVaba said:

“All distinguished guests, Assalamo Alaikum WaRahmtullahe WaBarakatohu – peace and blessings ofAllah be upon you all.

I would like to first of all take this opportunity tothank all of you who have come to attend this year’sPeace Symposium. As most of you are aware, thissymposium has been taking place annually for thepast decade and has become a permanent fixture inthe calendar of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.Normally we hold this event in March, but forvarious reasons, this year it was delayed untilNovember. Tonight there is also a nationalRemembrance Day function taking place, because ofwhich some people whom we invited may not havebeen able to attend.

Nonetheless, I am very grateful to all of you whohave come. Your participation certainly proves thatyou wish to hear about peace from the standpointof a particular Muslim sect, because in today’s worldthere is so much said about world peace and theconflicts that have arisen across the globe.

Certainly, the current state of affairs has become acause of fear and anxiety for much of the world.Whilst it is a cause of great regret, I have nohesitation in admitting that much of the disorderthat we see in the world today is occurring due tothe acts of certain so-called Muslims. For anypeaceful Muslim, who understands his faith, this isa cause of great sorrow and despair. Over the pastyear, one particular group has viciously spread itsnetwork of terror and has become a cause of majorconcern for the world. I am speaking of the group ofextremists commonly known as ISIS or IS.

The actions of this terrorist group are not onlyimpacting Muslim countries, but also countries inEurope and further afield are being affected by itsbrutalities. We see a disturbing number of Muslimyouths from Europe and other parts of the world,who have somehow come to believe that ISISrepresents a true picture of Islam and support theirideology. For these reasons they have resolved tohelp and to even fight for them.

From here in the UK it is said that around 500people, mostly young Muslims, have alreadytravelled to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS, in a warthat the terrorist group falsely claims is being fought

The Difference BetweenTrue Islam and Extremist GroupsKeynote Address at the 11th National Peace Symposium

in the name of Islam. If we look at the numbers ofMuslims in Europe who have travelled for this so-called Jihad then we observe that the proportion ofMuslims going from the UK to Iraq and Syria ishigher than the numbers who are travelling fromGermany or most other European countries.

This is extremely alarming and a cause of majorconcern for the United Kingdom because the agendaand objectives of ISIS and their so-called Khalifa areutterly horrific and barbaric.

It is said that their Khalifa says he wants to take‘revenge’ from the world and to conquer territoriesand nations. He says he wants to make the Muslimsthe masters of the entire world and to reduce all non-Muslims to slavery or to being the ‘property’ ofMuslims. He says that punitive action should betaken against every person who offends a Muslimin any way and that Shariah Law should apply toevery single person in every single land.

He desires to take away the rights of womenbelonging to other religions or sects; to suppressthem and turn them into concubines or force themto become their wives. ISIS seeks to destroy everyreligion or sect that differs from its beliefs andwishes to remove current Muslim governments andseize power from them. Thus, if this is all true thentheir strategy and vision is far-reaching and theirbasic aim is to destroy the peace of the world.

It is quite absurd to suggest that ISIS or any otherextremist group will ultimately ever be successful intaking over the world, because it is quite clear thattheir plans are completely senseless and based onwishful thinking, rather than reality. Nonetheless, ifthey are not stopped in their tracks then they couldcause a great deal of damage and destruction beforethey die their own death.

We have witnessed in so many incidents the terrorand devastation that even single individuals,without any backing or support, are able to cause.For example, every few months there are reports ofanother school-shooting tragedy in the United Stateswhere dozens of innocent children are killed due tothe heinous acts of one lone individual.

Thus, consider just how much suffering and ruincan be caused by a terrorist group, which isgathering together frustrated and restless peoplefrom all parts of the world who are ready to givetheir lives for this unjust cause.

This is especially true given the fact that this groupdoes not just have willing individuals, but is alsoheavily armed with sophisticated weapons systems

and artillery. Indeed, it is not out of the question thatthey could eventually lay their hands on nuclearweapons. As I said these deranged groups will notattain permanent or long-lasting success but in theshort-term it is quite possible that they couldconquer certain regions and cause huge destruction.When all of this is considered there is no doubtingthe horrific threat to the world posed by ISIS andany of the groups that have similar ideologies.

The fact that all of this is being done in the nameof Islam sincerely grieves and pains all true andpeace loving Muslims because such brutal andinhumane ideologies have nothing to do with thereligion whatsoever. Rather, in every way, and atevery level, Islam’s real teachings are of peace andsecurity for all people. If we look at the Holy Qur’anand also the life and character of the Prophet ofIslam, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, it becomesclear that the early Muslims never initiated any waror violence. If ever the Muslims took part in a war itwas purely defensive and their only objective wasto stop the oppressors from their cruelty and neverto assert their own superiority or to resort toinjustice. They never sought to occupy lands ornations or to subjugate the people.

The life of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa bearswitness to the fact that during the early years of hisprophethood in his hometown of Makkah, he onlyever sought to spread Islam’s teachings through loveand affection. However, the Makkan people not onlyrejected him but they treated him in the most crueland merciless manner. He and his followers werebrutally persecuted to the extent that, under divinecommand, the Holy Prophetsa had to leave Makkahand migrate to the city of Madinah. However, evenafter migration, the Makkans did not leave theMuslims alone, but instead travelled with a fully-

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equipped army and waged war against theMuslims. It was then that for the first time, on thecommand of Allah, the Muslims were givenpermission to fight to defend themselves.

The reason permission was granted is clearlystated in chapter 22, verses 40-41 of the Qur’anwhere Allah says that permission for a defensivewar was granted because if the Muslims did notdefend themselves, then the peace of the entireworld would be at risk. The opponents did not justwish to eliminate Islam, but in fact wanted toeliminate all forms of religion from the world.Therefore the Qur’an states that if permission wasnot granted then no church, synagogue, temple,mosque or any other place of worship would remainsafe. Hence, the Muslims were permitted to fightback not only to save Islam but to save religion itselfon the basis of the aforementioned verse.

In light of this, you can understand for yourselfhow utterly wrong the so-called Muslims of todayare when they claim that it is permissible to kill non-Muslims; seize their lands or to enslave them. Thereality is that Islam is that religion which hasguaranteed the right of every individual to live withliberty and freedom. And Islam is that religionwhich has guaranteed the right of every individualto live in peace and harmony, regardless of theirfaith or background.

I mentioned earlier how the Holy Prophetsa

migrated to Madinah along with his followers andthe manner in which the Muslims absorbedthemselves into the local society was a perfect modelof how to immigrate and integrate into a new

society. Before the Muslims arrived there were twomain groups who lived in the city of Madinah – theJews and the Arabs. Upon the arrival of the Muslimsthere became three groups – the Muslims, the Jewsand the non-Muslim Arabs. The Holy Prophetsa

immediately stated that it was essential that they alllived together in peace and harmony and so heproposed a covenant of peace between them.According to the terms of this treaty each group andeach tribe was given their due rights. The lives andwealth of all parties was guaranteed and any pre-existing inter-tribal customs were also respected. Itwas also agreed that if any person came fromMakkah with the intention of causing harm ormischief he would not be provided sanctuary byanyone in Madinah and nor would they enter intoany pact with them. Further, if a common enemyattacked Madinah all three groups would jointogether and defend the city as one, although it wasalso stipulated that non-Muslims would not beforced to fight alongside Muslims if the latter wereever attacked or fought outside Madinah.Furthermore, any agreements the Jews had withother groups would be honoured by the Muslims.The Jews would live by their religion and theMuslims would live by their religion.

When all three groups accepted the terms of thisagreement it was also agreed through mutualconsent that the Holy Prophetsa would serve asHead of State. Nonetheless, and as I said before, theJews would not be bound by the Shariah but wouldbe bound only by Jewish laws and customs. Thiswas the perfect example of tolerance and mutual

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respect of the Holy Founder of Islamsa and yet todayISIS claims that Shariah Law must be enforced onevery person, no matter their religion orbackground. At that time, the Holy Prophetsa alsoestablished the rights of women within thatcovenant. It clearly stipulated that no woman wasto be forcibly removed from her home or against herwill. Thus, how can it be right for ISIS to claim thatnon-Muslim women can be considered theirpossessions or chattels? According to the covenant,no person would ever be compelled to accept Islambut rather it expressly stated that the Jews and thenon-Muslims of Madinah, would be treated withlove and compassion and as brothers by theMuslims. Therefore, this is a summary of the treatywhich bound together the society of Madinahfollowing the arrival of the Muslims.

History bears witness to the fact that the Muslimsfollowed this agreement to the letter and if thecovenant was ever breached it was done so by theother parties. As the accepted leader of Madinah,sometimes the Holy Prophetsa would have to dealwith individuals or groups who had breached thecovenant or been involved in wrongdoing. But suchreprimands were given fairly, according to the termsof the covenant, and not due to any injustice. Thus,this is the true manifestation of government in Islam,whose foundation was laid by the Holy Prophetsa

and following him was continued by the FourRightly Guided Khalifas and throughout the firstcentury of Islam.

And so today, if ISIS or any Muslim governmentacts against these principles of true justice and

equality, then they are doing so only to fulfil theirown personal or political interests.

Even if they claim to act in Islam’s name, the truthis that their actions have no link with Islam or theteachings of the Holy Prophetsa whatsoever.

If we look at the history of Arabia before theadvent of the Holy Prophetsa it was a society inwhich every tribe sought to assert their rightsthrough warfare and bloodshed. Yet, in that verysame society the Holy Prophetsa brought about arevolution in which he established a proper systemof judiciary in which each group was treated inaccordance with its own traditions or religiousbeliefs. If one studies early Islamic history in a fairand unbiased manner then he or she will see thatduring the initial era of the Holy Prophetsa and hisFour Rightly Guided Khalifas, the behaviour of theMuslims was impeccable.

Never were they the aggressor in any war and nordid they ever seek to conquer land. Where theysought to spread Islam’s teachings they did so onlythrough preaching in an entirely peaceful manner.For example, Islam spread to China and South Indiaand yet nowhere in history does it state that anyMuslim armies ever attacked those nations; rather,Islam spread to those countries and other nationsthrough peaceful means. In later periods, someMuslim monarchs initiated wars for various reasonsfor which they alone cannot be blamed and even inthose wars the inhabitants of the captured countrieswere never forced to convert to Islam. Certainly, theQur’an rejects such ventures and teaches onlypeaceful propagation.

As I have already said, where Allah gave per-mission for defensive religious wars, it was givenonly as a means of protecting all religions and notjust Islam. In many different verses of the Qur’an,Allah the Almighty has laid down various principlesof warfare. For example, in chapter 2, verse 191,Allah established the principle of defensive warwhereby He said to fight only those who initiate waragainst you and never transgress or act cruelly,because Allah loves not those who are unjust.

Again, in chapter 16, verse 127, Allah the Almightycommands Muslims to never exceed the limits or totransgress during warfare. Allah says that anypunishment must be proportionate to the extent towhich you have been wronged.

In chapter 2, verse 194, Allah the Almighty saysthat during a war, a party should only fight untilthere is no more persecution and religion can once

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again be professed freely. It says that if theoppressors desist and the disorder ends then nofurther hostility should be shown against them.

In chapter 8, verse 62, Allah the Almighty says thatif oppressors incline towards peace and extend ahand of reconciliation then the Muslims shouldgrasp it and not question whether they are beingsincere.

Furthermore, in chapter 9, verse 4, the Qur’anstipulates that the Muslims must fulfil anycovenants or pacts they form with idolaters if thelatter have not acted aggressively and have kept theterms of their mutual agreements from their side.Allah says this is a necessary requirement ofrighteousness and Allah loves those who arerighteous.

In chapter 5, verse 9, Allah instructs Muslims toalways act fairly and with justice, even in a state ofwar. Allah says that the enmity of a nation or peopleshould never lead a Muslim to act unjustly as that isagainst righteousness.

In chapter 8, verse 68, Allah says that it does notbehove a prophet to keep captives outside a state ofwar because to do so would suggest that, rather thanGod’s love, they cared only for wealth or power.Thus, this proves very clearly that outside of war itis forbidden to keep anyone captive and yet todaywe see that these so-called ‘Islamists’ are forciblyimprisoning countless innocent people, whilstdefenceless women are being made into concubines.

In chapter 47, verse 5 of the Holy Qur’an, Allah theAlmighty has stated that prisoners of war should befreed following the conclusion of a war. In this verse,Allah has said that they should either be freed inreturn for a sum of money or it is even better thatthey should be released out of kindness and as a

favour. Thus, when war ends prisoners should befreed and this applies both to males or females. Inthe early ages, women used to go to the battlefieldsto support and motivate the men who fought, andin this way, the women were also liable to beingcaptured. The Qur’an, however, made it cate-gorically clear that no woman was ever to be treatedcruelly or to be violated in any way.

Regarding the payment of money to free aprisoner, in chapter 24, verse 34 the Qur’an statesthat if a person is unable to afford to free a prisonerthen one should accept installments and free theperson. These verses in relation to freeing prisonersof war should be understood in the context ofwarfare during the early period. At that time,individuals who fought in wars did so at their ownexpense and would bring their own weapons andso they were permitted to take payment in return forfreeing their prisoners. However, in today’s wars, itis governments who fund the expeditions entirelyand so there is no individual cost to the soldiers.Thus, the matter of how to treat prisoners of war isone for governments or international organisationsto determine and not for individual soldiers.Prisoner exchange programmes may occur or otherdeals between nations may take place at agovernmental level in an effort to bring long-lastingpeace. Certainly the conditions to personallyimprison anyone no longer exist and so to do sowould be entirely against Islam.

In the Qur’an, Allah has also said that you shouldnot cast envious glances at the wealth of others andthis alone is a golden principle for peace in theworld. If this one Islamic commandment is followedthen there can never be any question of a Muslimever taking over the land, territory or wealth of

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As I have already said, whereAllah gave permission fordefensive religious wars, itwas given only as a means ofprotecting all religions andnot just Islam.

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others. In chapter 10, verse 100 of the Qur’an, Allahhas said that, as He is the All-Powerful, if Hewanted He could make the entire world acceptIslam. Yet Allah did not compel mankind andinstructed the Holy Prophetsa that force was notpermitted to spread the message of Islam and thatreligion was a matter for each person’s heart andconscience.

Therefore it is quite clear that it is neverpermissible, in any circumstances, to force anotherperson to accept Islam or indeed any religion. Ofcourse, Muslims have been asked to preach themessage of Islam, but that is all. Thus, in chapter18, verse 30, Allah said to the Holy Prophetsa toinform the world that a Truth had come from theirLord, which was a means of success and prosperityand they were free to accept or reject it. Thesewords are crystal clear for all to see and hear. Allpeople are free to believe or not to believe. And sowhen the Holy Prophetsa was permitted only toconvey the message of Islam and nothing further -how then can the so called Muslim leaders of todaygo beyond this and think they have more power,authority or rights than the Prophet of Islam?

I have therefore briefly given a summary ofIslam’s teachings, based on various verses of theHoly Qur’an, which prove that the acts of crueltybeing conducted by certain Muslim groups andeven nations are completely contrary to Islam.

You may wonder why - if it is against Islam’steachings – they are acting in this way. The simpleanswer is, as I said before, that they are seekingonly to fulfil their worldly interests. Their goals arenot spiritual or religious at all. They seek to gainworldly pursuits in the name of religion throughcruelty and bloodshed.

I say again that any Ahmadi Muslim or indeedany peace-loving Muslim feels great pain that theirpure religion is being tarnished and exploited inthis unjust way. However, I would also hereby liketo question those people, organisations orpoliticians who claim that Islam is a religion ofviolence on the basis of the atrocities of theextremist groups.

I would ask them to consider how these groupsare able to acquire such funds that allow them tocontinue their terrorist activities and warfare for solong? How do they acquire such sophisticatedweapons? Do they have arms industries orfactories? It is quite obvious that they are receivingthe help and support of certain powers. This could

be direct support from very oil-rich Muslim statesor it could be other major powers covertlyproviding assistance.

When ISIS first came to prominence it was saidthey took over the weapons of the national armyand captured some arms depots - this may be truebut it would not be sufficient on its own for them tocontinue their activities until now. If the supply lineof a regular army is cut off then it is impossible forthem to continue and yet the supply line of ISISseems to be continually increasing.

It is said that they now even possess anti-aircraftmissiles and other sophisticated weaponry. This allpoints to a supply line supporting ISIS.

It is also common knowledge that they have hugefunds totaling hundreds of millions of dollars andso it can only be assumed they have externalsupport. Many officials, analysts and commentatorshave openly expressed support for this theory. Forinstance, a senior representative of the United StatesGovernment, David Cohen, who is the Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence,has publicly stated that ISIS is “the best fundedterrorist group we have ever confronted.” He says theyare spending tens of millions of dollars each monthand making one million dollars daily selling oil onthe black market.

We have to ask where and how are they gettingsuch unfettered access to such large quantities of oil?In other parts of the world the transport and sale ofoil is heavily monitored and sanctions have beenlevied against certain oil-rich states. Yet, somehowISIS seems to be able to bypass all forms ofregulation and acquire and sell vast quantities of oilwithout any interruption – even though we allknow that transporting or trading such hugequantities of oil cannot be easily hidden.

It is also said that ISIS receives regular incomethrough ransoms, but this is still a small amountcompared to its other sources of revenue.

The funding of these groups is a major problembecause it is through these funds that they are ableto prey on vulnerable groups or individuals. Forexample, one recent report stated that if a familysends one of its members to join ISIS then that familyis given thousands of dollars as an initial lump sumand then hundreds of dollars regularly thereafter.

Thus, something has to be done to stop thefunding of these groups urgently. The West has nowstarted to realise and acknowledge that this is a warthat is actually directly affecting it as well. However,

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this too is under-estimation – the truth is that this isa war against the entire world.

As a matter of routine, we see that the majorpowers are able to heavily influence or even dictatepolicies in Muslim countries on various matters andso the question is why have they not exerted theirinfluence here where it is genuinely required?

Why is there not a joint, united and concertedeffort to tackle all forms of extremism? Even theefforts being made now are too small compared tothe devastation this group will cause. In my view,what is happening is not only the fault of theMuslim world, but there are also external powersand forces that are contributing to this devastatingstate of affairs.

For years there have been domestic conflicts takingplace in countries like Syria and Iraq and outsidepowers have funded, armed or supported rebelgroups and factions that have grown rapidly andgone beyond the control of their paymasters. Theyhave gone on to wreak havoc and administer allforms of terror based on their extremist ideologies.By stating this I am not saying anything that is notalready in the public domain or openly covered bythe media. Militant groups such as ISIS are a productof such policies and are now spreading theirnetworks of terror far and wide and affecting theentire world.

Again I say that it is a cause of great pain andconcern to me that these evil acts are all beingassociated with Islam. Nowadays, it is a majorconcern that Muslim youths from the West aretravelling to countries like Syria and Iraq where theyare being radicalised. It is quite possible that theycould eventually return to their home countries andlaunch attacks or cause great disorder in this part ofthe world. Thus, clearly this is no longer a local orMuslim issue – it is an international issue thatrequires a global and concerted effort to stop theseextremist organisations.

Some prominent figures have suggested that it willtake 30 or even 100 years for this war withextremism to conclude. Personally, I believe that themilitant and extremist groups can be stopped in amuch shorter period of time if the world isdetermined to eradicate them. We must not thinkthat we are free from our personal responsibilitiessimply by saying it will take decades to end this war– rather everyone must join in this effort to counterglobal extremism. To simply lay the blame at the feetof Islam or particular groups will not save us fromwarfare or free us from our responsibilities.

Thus, all peaceful people should pressurise theirgovernments and certainly all politicians and figuresof influence should reflect on this and seek todevelop peace in the world by promoting truejustice in their respective spheres of influence, bytaking firm action to prevent the destruction ofworld peace completely. If we want to save theworld then true justice needs to be shown at everylevel of society and the problems faced in eachcountry should be solved in a fair way that removesfrustrations.

No country’s wealth should be looked uponenviously and mutual policies should be made tohelp one other. Most importantly the world mustrealise that it has forgotten its Creator and they mustcome back to Him. Only when this happens can truepeace be established and without this there can beno guarantee of peace.

I have spoken many times previously about thehorrific consequences of another global war andperhaps it will only be after such a war that theworld will come to realise the destructive results ofthe unjust policies that were made only to satisfypersonal ambitions and vested interests. I hope andpray that the world comes to its senses before sucha disaster comes to pass. I hope and pray that worldcomes to recognise and accept its Creator. With thesewords I seek your leave. Thank you very much.”

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Key for Salutations:sa Sallallaaho Alaihi wa Sallam – “May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.”This is written after the name of

the Holy Prophetsa.

as Alaihis Salaam– “May peace be upon him.” This is written after the name of Prophets other than the HolyProphetsa.

ra Razi-Allaaho anhu/anha/anhum – “May Allah be pleased with him/her.” This is written after names of theCompanions of the Holy Prophetsa and of the Promised Messiahas.

aba Ayyadahullaahu Ta’aalaa binasrihil Aziz – “May Allah the Almighty help him with His powerful support” Writtenafter the name of the current Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at.

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The Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement ofPeace is an international award that was launched in2009 under the auspices of His Holiness Hazrat MirzaMasroor Ahmad. It is awarded in recognition of anindividual’s or an organisation’s contribution for theadvancement of the cause of peace.

The winner of the 2013 prize was Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow for his outstanding work to promote educationand to relieve poverty. Magnus founded the charityMary’s Meals (formerly Scottish International Relief)that has a wonderfully simple but profound aim ofproviding hungry children with one meal every schoolday.

The charity has its roots in a humanitarian response to1990s Bosnian conflict and has since expanded to help hundreds of thousands of children internationallyincluding Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and South America.

As a result of this initiative the children are able to attend school and focus on their studies rather thanworry about whether they will be able to eat at all. This provides a unique opportunity for children toescape poverty. It also acts as an incentive for parents to ensure their children go to school, so they haveone less mouth to feed every day.

Magnus’s noble work has seen more than 900,000 daily meals served in schools and what is trulyastonishing is that Magnus and his team have managed to do this work with a single daily meal perchild per year costing just over £12.

Also as part of the humanitarian work he has sent nearly 345,000 backpacks of food and aid, workedlocally to heal tribal rifts, and helped to rebuild schools destroyed in natural disasters, provided boatsand other aid to fishing communities devastated by floods.

Your Holiness, distinguished guests, ladies andgentlemen. I’m deeply honoured and very

moved to receive this award and a little bitembarrassed too. I always like to describe the workof Mary’s Meals as lots and lots of little acts of love.None of us involved in this work do anything veryspectacular. It’s only when you put it together, allthose little things become this very amazing thing,

very beautiful thing that’s changing the world. I’ve got lots of reasons to feel very grateful and

very privileged to do this work everyday as it sooften gives me the opportunity to befriend peopleof different faiths and to work with them. Onememory comes to mind this evening. In 2011 I wentto Somalia for the first time during the terriblefamine there. I travelled there with some Muslim

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow

Founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals

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friends from South Africa who weredoing incredible work there. We wereworking together to bring food to thepeople. I remember the first evening wearrived and I was very frightened to behonest as it was a scary place and Iremember walking to where we werestaying that night, led by our very kindSomali host. As we walked into ourroom there was an enormous explosionnearby and our host turned to me andvery kindly spoke to me like I was asmall boy, because I jumped, and he said“Don’t worry, don’t worry it was just abomb.” It didn’t make me feel any better!

I have an even more vivid memory ofwaking up the next morning inMogadishu and all my friends were ontheir prayer mats saying their morningprayers and I, as a Catholic fromScotland, was saying my rosary, mychosen form of daily prayer – it was avery beautiful experience for me to beunited in that way in prayer, prayingaccording to our own different traditionsbut being very united in that task thatbrought us to Somalia.

The work of Mary’s Meals is verysimple and it was launched by the wordsof a child, a young boy I met in Malawiin 2002 during another famine there. Imet a family that was living in a smallmud brick house and the mother of thefamily was dying the father had alreadydied. The mother had Aids and she hadher six children around her and I begantalking to her oldest son, he was calledEdward and he was 14 years of age. Iasked him, “Edward what are yourhopes in life what are your ambitions?”And he said to me, “I would like to haveenough food to eat and I would like tobe able to go to school one day.” Thatwas the extent of his ambition at 14 yearsof age. Over the years I’ve met so manychildren like Edward who are missingout on school because they’re hungry,because they have to work, because theyhave to beg for food and yet we all knowthat a basic education for all is the key tolifting the world’s poorest communities

out of poverty. So Mary’s Meals is this very simple

response to try and intervene to try andbreak that cycle of poverty, by providingjust one good meal everyday in school.All those meals are served by localvolunteers in their own communitiesand as much as possible we buy thatfood locally to support the local farmer,to support the local economy. It neverceases to amaze me how this workgrows. Today over 900,000 children eatMary’s Meal every school day. We seechildren coming to school who hadnever been to school before and I havethe great pleasure of meeting youngpeople leaving school going ontocollege, university, paid employmentwho tell me they never would have goneto school had it not been for those mealsand they are the people going to lift theircountries and their communities out ofpoverty.

So our vision is that every child in theworld can receive one good meal every-day in their place of education and Ireally do believe that that is possible inthis world of plenty, in this world wherethere is more than enough food for all ofus and I ask the question, can there reallybe peace in this world when there aremillions of children who are hungry?How can those children have peace intheir lives without food, withouteducation, and how can we have peacein our lives, those of us who have beenblessed with so much, when our littlebrothers and sisters go hungry?

So I thank you Your Holiness forhonouring me, more especially forhonouring the work of Mary’s Meals inthis way. I’m so impressed by yourcommunity and everything that you aredoing here, working for peace and I justwant to end by thanking God forcreating this world and for giving all ofus so many opportunities to make itbetter. Thank you.

“...our vision

is that every

child in the

world can

receive one

good meal

everyday in

their place of

education and

I really do

believe that

that is

possible in

this world of

plenty, in this

world where

there is more

than enough

food for all of

us and I ask

the question,

can there

really be

peace in this

world when

there are

millions of

children who

are hungry?”

13

Assalamo alaikum wa rahmatullahwa barakatohu, may peace and

blessings of Allah be upon you. I amdelighted and honoured to welcome youall this evening. The world is facingmany challenges and each day we see onour screens and we read in ournewspapers about the wars and conflictsand terrible acts of extremism. As a resultthere is a raging debate about Islam andmore recently the issue of Khilafat hasbeen highlighted.

When this mosque was opened in2003, it was opened by His HolinessHazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifthKhalifa of the Promised Messiahas andwe are very honoured to have him withus this evening. At the openingceremony he said the mosque would bea beacon of peace for all and we hopethat all of you who are gathered heretonight will bear witness to this fact.

The reason why our communitypreaches peace is simple, because this isthe message and clear direction of ourKhalifa, as it is the message of allKhalifas before him. It was also themessage of the founder of ourcommunity, Hazrat Mirza GhulamAhmadas, whom we accept as thePromised Messiah and Mahdi when hefounded the community 125 years ago.And it was the same message of peace ofthe Holy Founder of Islam, the HolyProphet Muhammadsa 1400 years ago asit is the true message of Islam.

We, the Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity, are truly blessed that wehave Khilafat that is divinely guided,and through prayers and wisdom itunites the community that is now

established in 206 countries of the world.The Khalifa leads us in our worldwidecampaign for peace, through which weprovide food, shelter, education, healthservices, disaster relief, clean water,electricity and much more to people theworld over. It is under the guidance ofour Khalifa that we engage in dialogue,train our youth to serve their countryand to serve humanity, that we teach andpromote the values of loyalty, respectand peace – for this is the path to peace.

His Holiness is a man of peace who hasdelivered keynote addresses at parlia-ments across the world including theUK, USA and EU. He regularly meetsHeads of State, presidents and primeministers as well as faith leaders urgingthe need for peace based on justice. Andthere could not be a more importantmessage for the world today.

As you know this year marks 100 yearsafter the outbreak of the First World War.As we honour those who sacrificed theirlives for a future of peace and hope, wepray that their sacrifices do not go invain. We honour the fallen and hope thatit strengthens our resolve to doeverything we can to ensure that thefuture does indeed remain one of peaceand not war.

I am sure that it is through gatheringssuch as this and through people such asyou that gives the world much hope. Itake this opportunity to welcome you allonce again to what I am sure will be aninspiring and special evening. Thankyou.

INTRODUCTION AND GUEST SPEAKERS

Rafiq Hayat

National President (Amir) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK

“The Khalifa

leads us in our

worldwide

campaign for

peace, through

which we

provide food,

shelter,

education,

health services,

disaster relief,

clean water,

electricity and

much more to

people the

world over.”

14

“Thank you to

Humanity First for

all of the work you

do, not just

internationally but

also the wonderful

work of the

Ahmadiyya

Muslim Youth

Organisation that

works here and

helped critically

with the floods last

year doing

amazing, amazing

work in places like

Surrey and indeed

further afield in

Devon.

... I’m very proud

that my department

is looking at how

we can work with

Humanity First

more closely in the

future”.

Rt Hon Justine Greening MP

Secretary of State for International Development

It’s a pleasure to be here with HisHoliness, and all of you and I know

that I speak on behalf of myneighbouring MPs, Jane Ellison andStephen Hammond who are also withus tonight.

I really wanted to make one pointand to say two thank yous. The pointthat I wanted to make, very muchbuilt on comments by earlier speakerstonight. We live in extremely chal-lenging times where there are somany forces that can pull com-munities apart and I think when youreach those times its always easy tolook at the problems and perhaps tonot see some of the solutions that areright under your nose. I think tonightis a good example of what some ofthose solutions look like, because it isa very simple but powerful event thatis bringing people together from allover our local community, all overparts of London, to do a very simplething; which is to come together forone night and to discuss importantissues, to listen to one another, to getchance to talk to one another, tounderstand one another and then todo a simple thing – to eat together,which is what families do. That’s thepoint that I want to make. We need tolook what good looks like as well asspending time understanding what’sgoing wrong.

The two thank yous I have are verysimple ones as well. Thank you toHumanity First for all of the workyou do, not just internationally butalso the wonderful work of theAhmadiyya Muslim YouthOrganisation that works here andhelped critically with the floods lastyear doing amazing, amazing work

in places like Surrey and indeedfurther afield in Devon. So a bigthank you to all of the work you dofor our local communities andcommunities all over the world. Iknow how much of difference itmakes and I’m very proud that mydepartment is looking at how we canwork with Humanity First moreclosely in the future.

And then a second thank you on anissue that is often very difficult forpeople to talk about which is femalegenital mutilation (FGM). Earlier inthe summer my department and ourgovernment held a Girl Summit thatwas all about how we can worktogether to end FGM but also to endchild marriage. They are difficulttopics that often get swept under thecarpet but for the women they touch,they completely change their livesand we should stand up against thosethings. And it is very touching to me,that one of the first communitieslocally that was willing to put out astatement to say how they abhorredFGM was the AhmadiyyaCommunity. And I think being pre-pared to take those stands on suchimportant issues that affect so manypeople means a lot and I think it saysa lot about the AhmadiyyaCommunity and its place not just inBritain but in the wider world.

So thank you for all that you do,thank you for your good works,thank you for your leadership inbringing our community togetherand I hope that tonight we can havean enjoyable evening in one another’scompany. Thank you.

15

Rt Hon Edward Davey MP

Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change

Your Holiness, distinguished guests, ladies andgentlemen, it’s a great privilege to be here. As

we listen to His Holiness tonight and for those ofus who will be at remembrance services tomorrow,I hope we will reflect on the lessons of the past andof the challenges we face together. In the past andnow in our world we see a politics of division,where there are people who don’t live by the creedof Love for All Hatred for None but they do wantto divide communities. We saw that in the wars ofthe 20th century but we also see it in the wars of the21st century, we see it in the wars that arehappening now across the world.

When you think of the tensions in Ukraine, whenyou think of what’s happening in Syria, what’shappening in Afghanistan, what’s happening inIraq and indeed in too many other countries, ourhearts go out to those people who are sufferingunder the politics of division.

So it is important that we are coming together

under your leadership Your Holiness tonight to bea politics of unity, of people coming together, to talktogether, to work together, to pray together for aworld of unity and that need for greater unity isacross our country because I fear that the politicsof division are not just in other parts of the world,they can be here. We see voices in our politics thatwant to divide our continent, want to divide ourcountries, want to divide communities. We have tosay tonight, we have to say in the way we live ourlives, do our politics that we stand together againstthat politics of division.

So Your Holiness, it is a great privilege andhonour to be here, we look forward to your wordsand wisdom and guidance tonight and inshAllahwe will be together. Thank you.

Beloved  Huzur, Your  Excellencies, fellowparliamentarians and ministers, ladies and

gentlemen, it’s indeed a pleasure to be here withyou this evening to be addressing the peacesymposium for two significant reasons. Oneas Fareed said in his introduction is that this is mycommunity, it is my home, it’s the place where Iworship, it’s a place where I come with my family,it’s a place which really is part of my being.Therefore being a member of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community is something that I’ve alwaysworn with pride, with great identity becauseultimately the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community isthat community, when you look at the history ofBritain, in 1924 when the Second Successor, theCaliph then, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din

Mahmood Ahmadra arrived here in London to laythe foundation stone of the first purpose builtmosque in London, he commented then about ourgreat nation, about the freedoms, the liberties, theprogression that it did not matter who you were,where you came from, that Britain was anincredible country for everyone.

The second reason as to why I’m here today, andI do so with pride, is because I am now the Ministerresponsible for communities, for engagement withfaith communities up and down the country. Lastweek I had the huge privilege of attending anevent, commemorating the first Muslim recipientof the Victoria Cross Khudadad Khan who, in 1914,fought from the battlefields of France but hisorigins lay in what is present day Pakistan. This

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Minister for Communities

16

demonstrates that the contributions of differentpeople, of different faiths, of different communitiesis not new to Britain, it’s part of what definesBritain, not just today but in our historyand InshAllah it will define our tomorrows as well.

I would also like to take this opportunity toextend on behalf of both the Prime Minister andindeed my boss the Secretary of State Eric Pickles,their regret that they cannot be here today and alsotheir recognition of the incredible workthe Ahmadiyya Muslim Community does. And if Iagain just share one element of both my portfolioand the community. Five or six years ago the youthof the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community said, wewant to do our part in showing that this isn’t about

an adopted country, this is our country we want toshow loyalty not just by words alone but by ouractions, demonstrably standing with pride, withour troops. And it was the  Ahmadiyya  MuslimYouth who first engaged in the poppy appeal fromdifferent communities up and down the country.And I can inform you that six years on that singleact of engagement results that this year we havecommunities, from mosques, from  gurdwaras,from temples up and down the country. Againshowing that it doesn’t matter what your faith is,that we are united together as the being part of thisincredible country that we call Britain.

Thank you very much.

I have two tasks this evening, Your Holiness, YourExcellencies and guests. The organisers did

invite  His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran,who is Pope Francis’ principal advisor on inter-religious matters to be here this evening, he’s notable to come but he has sent a message which I shallread and then I shall make some comments on myown account, (see next page for message from theCardinal).

I would like to add, just on behalf of the CatholicChurch in England and Wales, my own warmestgreetings to His Holiness and to this gathering. Aswas mentioned I was at the previous gathering inthe Guildhall in London earlier this year and Istrongly commend the huge contribution beingmade by the Ahmadiyya Community to peace.

Everybody has a role to play and the question Ithink we need to ask is what has been entrusted tome as an individual, and to the community to whichI belong? Tonight, Mary’s Meals is being honouredand though it’s not for me to speak about it, it isworth saying that what has been entrusted to that

organisation is to ensure that people who wouldotherwise go hungry are actually fed. Each one of usand each one of our communities represented heretonight has something entrusted in us to do for thecourse of peace and justice in the world.

So I thank very much the organisers of this eventfor giving us such a lead and for creating thisoccasion which I hope will actually inspire each oneof us in different ways to discern what has beenentrusted to us and to pursue it with confidence andfaith. Thank you very much.    

Most Rev Kevin McDonald

Archbishop Emeritus of Southwark, Catholic Church

“Each one of us and each one of our communities represented here tonight has

something entrusted in us to do for the course of peace and justice in the world.”

17

Message by the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (Vatican City)

His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran

To the Participants at the Symposium “Khilafat, Peace and Justice”London (UK), 8 November 2014

Your Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to send you this message at the request of the organizers of this Symposium.

I would like to make some brief points on the topics of your reflection and sharing.

I am aware of the Islamic vision of man as God’s khalifa (vicegerent) on earth. For Christians, as youknow, the human being, created in God’s image and resemblance (cf. Genesis 1, 26-27), has been entrustedwith the whole of the universe, for his benefit; but he is required to be always in gratitude and with respect forthe laws the Creator established for all that exists. Pope Francis likes the term “guardian” (Italian: custode).The creation has been entrusted to us for our good and that of the future generations. We are all its guardians.But what did we do to it? What are we doing? What kind of world will we leave for our sons and grandsons?Nevertheless, we are all aware that we should care more and better for the world to keep the air, soil, theenvironment and the earth’s all resources healthy and safe. It is the responsibility not only of the governmentsand politicians, but also of each of us, believers and persons of good will without professing any religion.

Regarding peace, it is a good of prime importance for humanity. Without it, people cannot live in serenitynor can have the possibility of proceeding on the path of progress. Peace is honoured in all religions, althoughin varying ways. For Christians, peace is at the same time a divine gift as well as the result of human efforts.It is like the work of an artisan. On 27th April 2014, Pope Francis declared Pope John XXIII a saint. The “goodpope” lived in a particular, delicate moment of modern history, with the possibility of a disastrous nuclear wartaking place. In his Encyclical letter Pacem in terris (Peace on earth), the saintly Pope indicated four pillars ofpeace: Truth, justice, love and liberty. It is noteworthy that these four values so important for peace have beenthe theme of a Colloquium jointly organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and its Muslimpartners in Iran. Unfortunately, in our days, we observe with much pain, that peace and security are under severethreat in our world. We read and hear every day of violence against persons and groups belonging to otherreligions or even of the same religious community. What makes these crimes more heinous is that they arecommitted sometimes in the name of religion, thereby offending God, this specific religion and the personswho are its victims as well at the same time. We all, religious leaders as well as believers, should denounceloudly and without any ambiguity such crimes, defending respect for human life and dignity and the rights thatare derived from them.

Justice is a value dear to all human beings, but has a special consideration for followers of religions.Therefore, Christians and Muslims, along with other religious people, must consider it fundamental, also forreligious reasons. We all know that the absence of justice, be it among individuals, communities or states,generates resentments, tensions and other negative feelings that can result in conflicts and wars. This is why weshould educate the youth to be respectful of justice and to engage themselves to be its promoters, for a peacefulworld. We are in fact aware that there can be no peace without justice, and no peace nor justice without mutualrespect.

Let us all therefore be vigilant guardians of the creation, instruments of peace, promoters of justice. By doingso, we glorify God and make all brothers and sisters in humanity happy.

18

Siobhain McDonagh MPChair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Your Holiness, distinguishedguests, ladies and gentlemen,

fellow MPs, thank you for invitingme to the Peace Symposium, theeleventh to be held since they werelaunched ten years ago in 2004 byHis Holiness following his electionas head of the worldwideAhmadiyya Muslim Community in2003.

It is significant that we are gath-ered together this Remembranceweekend when we commemoratethe beginning of World War Oneand remember the lives of thosewho have died in order that otherscan live in peace. I acknowledgeand thank the AhmadiyyaCommunity for their support forthe British Legion through the saleof poppies and raising funds. TheBritish Legion recognised this bydesignating last Saturday asAhmadiyya Muslim Poppy AppealDay.

This evening is also significantbecause it marks the 125th anni-versary of the founding of theAhmadiyya Muslim Community,with its total commitment to peaceand interfaith harmony. This com-mitment to peace by the worldwideAhmadiyya Community contrastsstarkly to the stance recently takenby the state of Pakistan. As youknow only too well, it is now thirtyyears since Pakistan implementedthe Ordinance XX which enshrinedthe state sponsored religiouspersecution of the AhmadiyyaCommunity. In a further worryingdevelopment earlier this year inresponse to a growing number ofasylum seekers entering their

country, the Government of SriLanka started to deport Ahmadisseeking asylum, back to Pakistan.Although this is being challengedby the courts in Sri Lanka, it is aworrying and for some a terrifyingdevelopment. Terrifying in the lightof the atrocities such as the murderof a grandmother and her twoyoung grandchildren who wereburnt alive in their home inPakistan in July of this year.

I applaud and support theAhmadi aim of the separation ofstate and religion as I believe this isa step towards removing religiouspersecution in the world. Bychoosing Merton as the UK andworldwide headquarters, theAhmadiyya Muslim Community,we are honoured to have you.

Thank you for the contributionyou make to the richness anddiversity of our community inMerton and the UK, and once againI thank you for inviting me tospeak.

“I acknowledge and thank the Ahmadiyya Community

for their support for the British Legion through the sale

of poppies and raising funds.

The British Legion recognised

this by designating last

Saturday as Ahmadiyya

Muslim Poppy Appeal Day.”

The 2014 National Peace Symposium

Meeting with members of the British pressMeeting with members of the Asian press

Meeting with members of the British army The Most Rev Kevin McDonald and Magnus

MacFarlane-Barrow with His Holiness

Loyalty

Freedom

Equality

Respect

Peace

www.LoveForAllHatredForNone.org

Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UKThe London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon SW18 5QLTel: 020 8874 5836Fax: 020 8874 4779

www.alislam.org • www.mta.tv

Email: ExternalAffairs@ahmadiyya.org.uk

Twitter:@AhmadiyyaUK